By law, new presidential elections cannot be held during martial law.
President of Ukraine to Volodymyr Zelensky the period leading the country would end on Monday, May 20, if there was peace in the country. However, by law, new elections cannot be held during martial law.
Even if the law allowed elections, it would be difficult for democracy to be realized. About a fifth of Ukraine’s surface area and a significant part of the people are under the occupation power, besides which there are plenty of voters at the front and abroad. Organizing elections would also be financially difficult in a situation where all resources are needed for national defense.
As Russia’s war of aggression continues, Zelenskyi’s push continues into the future without a clear end point. A researcher of the political history of Ukraine who writes on the pages of the Carnegie think tank Konstantin Skorkin according to the country’s constitution, there is no mechanism written into the country’s constitution to extend the term of office of the president without elections.
– Ukrainian lawyers have pointed out that the absence of such a mechanism is a deliberate decision in order to reduce the risk of abuse of power. At the same time, Ukraine’s election laws prohibit holding elections in a state of war, Skorkin writes.
The Constitution of Ukraine dictates, on the one hand, that the president’s term of office is five years, but on the other hand, that the president serves in office until his successor is elected.
The current Speaker of the Ukrainian Parliament and Zelenskyi’s party mate Ruslan Stefanshuk has assured that Zelenskyi will continue in his position until the election of the next president.